The House yesterday passed a sweeping
bill that would outlaw the creation of cloned human embryos for any purpose,
whether to make cloned babies or to produce potentially therapeutic stem
cells. The bill would also prohibit the importation of any medical treatments
created abroad from cloned human embryo cells.

Sixty-three Democrats and two independents
joined 200 Republicans to pass the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001,
dealing a preliminary blow to medical researchers and many patient advocates
who had supported a more narrowly worded cloning ban. By a vote of 251
to 176, the House rejected an amendment favored by those advocates that
sought to ban the creation of cloned babies but would have allowed private
companies to create cloned human embryos and develop therapies from their
cells.

Stem cells are versatile and show
great potential for the treatment of many diseases, but their retrieval
requires the destruction of human embryos. Some researchers believe that
stem cells from cloned human embryos may be the most useful, because they
might not be rejected by a patient's immune system. A U.S. company recently
announced it had begun efforts to make cloned human embryos as sources
of stem cells, and another has said it hopes to do so before long.

Yesterday's vote -- the first time
Congress has grappled with the quickly evolving field of human cloning
and stem cell research -- capped six hours of heated scientific and ethical
debate, during which legislators feuded over the relative moral costs of
experimenting on cloned human embryos and the scientific costs of banning
such research. Ultimately, a majority came down on the side of caution.

"This sends a signal to the American
people that the Congress is prepared to draw the line and ban human cloning,"
said Rep. David Joseph Weldon (R-Fla.), the bill's primary sponsor.

But opponents of the bill played
down the vote's significance. Noting that the Senate has in the past rejected
similar anti-cloning legislation, they characterized yesterday's action
in the House as an easy opportunity for many lawmakers to prove their conservative
credentials before going home to their constituents Friday for a month-long
recess.

Indeed, some supporters of stem cell
research said they saw a silver lining to yesterday's loss. President Bush
is poised to decide whether federal funds should be made available for
research on human embryonic stem cells isolated from leftover embryos created
through standard in vitro fertilization and slated for destruction at fertility
clinics. By voting to oppose the creation of cloned human embryos, some
observers said, lawmakers may believe they can afford to support funding
-- with strict federal oversight -- of stem cell research on surplus conventional
embryos.

"For Republicans who feel they may
be going against their leadership by saying they favor federal funding
for stem cell research, they can now say, 'See, I voted against human cloning,'
so it gives them some cover," said a strategist working to gain approval
of stem cell funding, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

During yesterday's debate, members
on both sides described the vote as a pivotal decision that could have
a huge impact on future generations. Several said they were humbled by
the immensity of the issue. Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner
Jr. (R-Wis.) said, "This vote is about providing moral leadership for a
watching world." Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.) described it as a headlong
rush into the unknown.

More than a few complained that they
felt ill-prepared to make the right decision.

"This is cellular nuclear science,
and there's almost no one of the 435 members here who understands this,"
said Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.), who sponsored the failed amendment
to limit the bill's scope.

At the core of that confusion is
a tantalizing but unproven notion that the best way to get the benefits
of embryonic stem cells may be to create cloned embryos from patients'
own cells, so that the stem cells derived from those embryos are genetically
identical to the patient and will not be rejected.

Scientists refer to that process
as "therapeutic cloning," in contrast to "reproductive cloning," which
refers to the creation of a fully developed cloned baby. Saying that a
total ban on cloning could keep patients from gaining the benefits of therapeutic
cloning, some scientists yesterday vowed to fight the legislation in the
Senate.

"Today's vote is a step backwards
and if enacted into law, which we doubt will happen, will reverse progress
that could affect potentially millions of patients," said Carl Feldbaum,
president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. "We're going to call
on the Senate to reflect more carefully and separate therapeutic cloning
technologies from those used for reproductive cloning, which almost everyone
agrees is repugnant and unsafe."

Criticism also came from the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine. The group was "very disappointed . .
. that the House has passed an irresponsible, over-reaching restriction
on scientific research," spokesman Sean Tipton said. The Weldon bill, Tipton
said, "prohibits American scientists from discovering potential cures for
diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury. If
other countries discover these cures, the Weldon bill would make it illegal
for American patients to use them."

But several lawmakers said yesterday
that no matter what the medical promise, they were not comfortable allowing
the cloning of human embryos. Some said the process was morally reprehensible.
Others focused on the practical difficulties of stopping someone from transferring
a cloned embryo into a willing woman's womb, where it might grow into the
world's first full-term human clone.

"There is a fine line between creation
and implantation," said Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.).

Opponents of embryo research yesterday
echoed scientists' warnings that the fight is not over.

"By a decisive bipartisan vote, the
House has acted to block the creation of human embryo farms, but the biotech
firms will begin this ghoulish industry soon unless the Senate also acts,"
said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life
Committee. "The real agenda of the biotech industry is now revealed. Lethal
research on embryos already created for infertile couples is only a stepping
stone to mass produce human embryos for the sole purpose of destroying
them."

The Senate version of the Weldon
bill, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), is not scheduled for action,
and some insiders predicted it would have a hard time getting the attention
of Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.). As an alternative, some
Congress watchers said, the bill's language could appear as a rider to
an appropriations bill.

But Brownback expressed optimism
yesterday that his bill would gain momentum in the Senate. "We're building
a strong coalition with the Green Party people, folks who supported the
Nader candidacy," Brownback said. "That's starting to come together more
and more."